☀️ Lesson 3.1: Present Simple — Daily Routines

Today you learn your first real tense in English. With the present simple, you can talk about your whole day — everything you do in the morning, afternoon, and night. This tense lets you describe your life.

📚 What You'll Learn

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

Describe your daily routine using the present simple (I get up, we study, they work)
Make negatives with don't (I don't work on Sunday)
Ask yes/no questions with "Do you…?" and give short answers
Use basic time expressions (in the morning, every day, at night)

⏱️ Estimated Time: 55 minutes

🎯 Project: Describe your own daily routine out loud in 6 or more sentences, in order from morning to night.

In This Lesson

🔤 New Words in This Lesson

Here are some useful words from this lesson. Tap 🔊 to hear a word.

routine — things you do every day
habit — something you do again and again
verb — an action word (eat, work, go)
base verb — the plain form of a verb (work)
tense — the time of an action
get up — leave your bed
negative — a "no" sentence with don't
every day — on all the days

What Is the Present Simple?

We use the present simple for habits and routines — the things you do again and again, every day or every week. When you say "I drink coffee in the morning," you don't mean only now. You mean it is your normal life. That's the present simple.

Think about your day. You get up. You have breakfast. You go to work or school. You come home. You go to bed. These are all routines. The present simple is the perfect tool for them.

💡 Habits, not "right now"

The present simple is for things that are often true or happen again and again: "I work in a hospital." It is not for something happening this second. For "right now," English uses a different tense (present continuous — "I am working now"). Don't worry about that one yet. We learn it in a later lesson. For today, think routine. 🔁

🧠 Mindset

Until now you learned words — greetings, numbers, family, your name. Today something bigger happens: you get your first tense. A tense is like a key 🔑. With this one key, you can open thousands of sentences. You can describe your whole day — not just single words, but real, full thoughts. You are not learning a list anymore. You are learning to build. That is a big step, and you are ready. 🌱

Affirmative: I Get Up at Seven

Good news: this is the easiest tense in English. For I, you, we, and they, take the subject and add the base verb — the plain, dictionary form. Nothing changes on the verb.

subject + base verb

Subject	Verb	Example sentence
I	get up	I get up at seven.
You	work	You work in an office.
We	study	We study English every day.
They	live	They live here.

See the pattern? The verb is the same for all four subjects: get up, work, study, live. You already know how to do this. You just put a subject in front of a verb.

💡 Coming next lesson: he, she, it

You may see that we use only I, you, we, they today. That is on purpose! When the subject is he, she, or it, English adds a little -s to the verb ("she works"). We add that in the next lesson. For now, learn these four subjects first. One step at a time. 👍

Daily Routine Verbs

To talk about your day, you need routine verbs. Here are the most useful ones. Read each phrase out loud. Picture yourself doing it.

get up — leave your bed
wake up — open your eyes
have breakfast — eat in the morning
have lunch — eat at midday
have dinner — eat in the evening
take a shower — wash yourself
brush my teeth — clean your teeth
get dressed — put on clothes
go to work — travel to your job
go to school — travel to class
start work — begin your job
study — learn something
work — do your job
come home — return home
cook — make food
watch TV — look at television
read — look at a book
go to bed — get into bed
sleep — rest at night

Now listen to two friends talk about their mornings. Read both parts out loud.

Sam: What time do you get up?
Mia: I get up at six. I take a shower and have breakfast. What about you?
Sam: Oh, I don't get up early. I wake up at eight!
Mia: Eight! Do you have breakfast?
Sam: No, I don't. I only drink coffee. Then I go to work.
Mia: We start work at the same time, then. I come home at six in the evening.
Sam: Me too. In the evening I cook dinner and watch TV.

What time do you get up? I get up at seven. In the morning I… Then I go to work. I come home in the evening. At night I go to bed.

Time Expressions

Routines happen at certain times of day. These little phrases tell people when something happens. We say in the morning/afternoon/evening, but at night.

Time expression	When?	Example
in the morning	early, after you wake up	I have breakfast in the morning.
in the afternoon	after midday	We study in the afternoon.
in the evening	after work, before bed	They watch TV in the evening.
at night	late, when it's dark	I sleep at night.
every day	all days, as a habit	You study English every day.
on weekdays	Monday to Friday	We work on weekdays.

✅ Pro Tip

Time expressions can go at the start or the end of a sentence. Both are correct. "In the morning I have breakfast" and "I have breakfast in the morning" mean the same thing. Clock time (like "half past seven") comes in the next lesson. For now, these general times are perfect. ⏰

Negatives with Don't

What about the things you don't do? To make a negative, put don't before the base verb. Don't is a short way to say do not. The verb stays plain.

subject + don't + base verb

Affirmative	Negative
I work on Sunday.	I don't work on Sunday.
They like coffee.	They don't like coffee.
We watch TV.	We don't watch TV.
You get up early.	You don't get up early.

⚠️ Important Note: After don't, never add anything to the verb. Say "I don't work," never "I don't works." The word don't already does the grammar. So the verb stays plain and simple.

💡 don't = do not

You will hear both. "I don't work" and "I do not work" mean the same thing. In everyday speaking and friendly writing, people almost always use the short form don't. It sounds natural and easy. 🙂

Questions with Do You…?

To ask a yes/no question, start with Do, then the subject, then the base verb. This is how you learn about another person's routine.

Do + subject + base verb …?

Question	Yes answer	No answer
Do you get up early?	Yes, I do.	No, I don't.
Do they work here?	Yes, they do.	No, they don't.
Do we study today?	Yes, we do.	No, we don't.

Look at the short answers. You don't need to say the whole sentence again. Someone asks "Do you work here?" You just say "Yes, I do." or "No, I don't." Short, natural, and polite.

✅ Pro Tip

In a short answer, we don't say the main verb again. Say "Yes, I do," not "Yes, I work." Be careful: "Do you get up early?" — "Yes, I do" (correct), not "Yes, I get up" as a short answer. The little word do does all the work. 💪

Practice & Project

🏋️ Exercise 1: Put the routine in order

Objective: Put a mixed-up day in order, from morning to night.

Here is one person's day. The sentences are mixed up. Put them in order, from waking up to sleeping.

I go to bed at eleven.
I get up at seven.
I have dinner in the evening.
I have breakfast.
I go to work in the morning.
I come home in the afternoon.

✅ Answer

1. I get up at seven. → 2. I have breakfast. → 3. I go to work in the morning. → 4. I come home in the afternoon. → 5. I have dinner in the evening. → 6. I go to bed at eleven.

🏋️ Exercise 2: Make it negative

Objective: Add don't to make each sentence negative.

Write each sentence in the negative.

I work on Saturday.
They like tea.
We get up early.
You watch TV in the morning.

✅ Answer

1. I don't work on Saturday. · 2. They don't like tea. · 3. We don't get up early. · 4. You don't watch TV in the morning.
(Remember: the verb stays plain — don't work, not don't works.)

🏋️ Exercise 3: Make a "Do you…?" question

Objective: Turn each statement into a yes/no question.

Change each statement into a question starting with Do you…?

You get up early.
You study English.
You cook dinner.
You go to bed late.

✅ Answer

1. Do you get up early? · 2. Do you study English? · 3. Do you cook dinner? · 4. Do you go to bed late?
Now try answering each one about yourself: "Yes, I do." or "No, I don't."

🎯 Your Project: My Daily Routine

Now describe your own day. Do it out loud — to a partner, a teacher, or your phone. You will say 6 or more sentences, in order from morning to night.

(3 min) Write or think of your day. Use the routine verbs from this lesson.
(3 min) Add a time expression to at least three sentences (in the morning, in the evening, at night, every day).
(3 min) Include at least one negative with don't (for example, "I don't work on Sunday").
(3 min) Say your whole routine out loud, in order, morning to night.
(3 min) Solo? Record it and listen one time. With a partner or class? Take turns. Then ask each other one "Do you…?" question about the routine you just heard.

Model answer: "I get up at seven every day. I take a shower and have breakfast. In the morning I go to work. I come home in the evening. Then I cook dinner and watch TV. I don't go to bed late — I go to bed at ten."

✅ Project Completion Checklist

☐ I said 6 or more sentences about my day
☐ My sentences go in order, morning to night
☐ I used at least three time expressions
☐ I used at least one negative with don't
☐ I said it all out loud (recorded or to a partner)

🎯 Quick Quiz

Question 1: Which sentence is correct?

Question 2: Someone asks, "Do you get up early?" What is the correct short answer for "no"?

Tips & Common Mistakes

✅ Do's

Keep the verb plain for I, you, we, they: I work, we study, they live.
Use the present simple for routines and habits — things you do again and again.
Use short answers: "Yes, I do." / "No, I don't." They sound natural.
Add time expressions to make your sentences better: in the morning, every day, at night.

❌ Common Mistakes

⚠️ Watch Out

Adding -s too early: With I/you/we/they, never add -s. Say "I work," not "I works." (The -s is only for he/she/it — next lesson!)
"I don't works": After don't, the verb is always plain. Say "I don't work."
Forgetting "do" in questions: Ask "Do you work here?" — not just "You work here?" with a rising voice.
Saying the verb again in short answers: Say "Yes, I do," not "Yes, I work."

📓 Learning Journal

Take five minutes after this lesson to write in your learning journal. After every lesson, write down:

Key concepts you learned
Things that clicked for you
Questions or confusion points to revisit
Ideas you want to try
Your progress and feelings about learning English

✍️ This lesson's prompt: Write five sentences about your typical day. Use the present simple, in order from morning to night. Add at least one don't sentence about something you never do. Then read it out loud. How did it feel to describe your whole day in English for the first time? 🌟

📝 Lesson Summary

🎓 Key Takeaways

The present simple describes habits and routines — things you do regularly.
Affirmative: subject + base verb (I get up, we study, they live). No -s for I/you/we/they.
Negative: subject + don't + base verb (I don't work on Sunday). don't = do not.
Questions: Do + subject + base verb (Do you get up early?) → "Yes, I do." / "No, I don't."
Time expressions: in the morning/afternoon/evening, at night, every day, on weekdays.

🎉 What You've Accomplished

This is a big lesson. You didn't just learn new words today. You learned your first tense. You can now describe your daily routine. You can say what you don't do. You can ask other people about their days. So you can have a real conversation about everyday life. From single words to full sentences about your whole day — that is real progress. Be proud. 🎉

❓ Common Questions at This Stage

Why do we say "I don't work" and not "I not work"?

English needs a little helper word for a negative. That helper is do (in the short form don't). "I not work" has no helper, so it sounds wrong in English. Always use don't + the plain verb.

When do I add the -s, like in "she works"?

Only when the subject is he, she, or it. That is the next lesson. For today, with I, you, we, they, the verb stays plain, with no -s. One step at a time!

What's the difference between "I work" and "I am working"?

"I work" is a routine (your normal life). "I am working" means right now, at this moment. That second one is a different tense (present continuous). We learn it later. For now, remember: present simple = habits and routines.

🔭 Looking Ahead

In Lesson 3.2, we add three new subjects — he, she, and it — and the little -s that goes with them. You also learn to tell the time and to name the days of the week. Then you can say exactly when your routine happens.

✅ Before the Next Lesson

Say your daily routine out loud once more, from memory.
Make three don't sentences about things you never do.
Ask a friend or write down three "Do you…?" questions.
Write your Learning Journal entry.

🌟 Encouragement for the Journey

You now have your first tense — a real key to English. With it, you can already describe your whole day, morning to night. Every fluent speaker built their English one tense at a time, right here. Keep practicing out loud, and watch your sentences grow. See you in Lesson 3.2! 👋